The Ottawa free trader. [volume] (Ottawa, Ill.) 1843-1916, 1887-11-19

He carried her hand to his lips humbly
his first purely unaffected action. She
slipped through the door, and softly closed
II behind her.
Reaching tho upper deck she was re-
| lieved to find her father had not returned,
and her absence had been unnOticed. For
she had resolved to keep dc Ferrieres'
secret to herself from the moment that
she had unwittingly discovered it, and to
do this and still be able to watch over him
without her fathers knowledge required
some caution. She was conscious of his
| strange aversion to the unfortunate man
without understanding the reason, but rs
she was in the habit of entertaining his
caprices more from affectionate tolerance
of his weakness than reverence of his
Judgment, she saw no disloyalty to him in
Withholding confidence that might be
disloyal TO another. "It won't do father
any good to know it, she said to herself,
"and if it did it oughtn't to-" she added
with triumphant feminine logic. But
the impression made upon her by the spec
tacle she had just witnessed was stronger
than any other consideration. The revela-
tion of de Fcrrieres' secret poverty seemed
chapter from a romance Of her own
weaving; for moment 1t lifted the mis-
cradle hero out of the depths of his folly
of the man in the strength OF his dramatic
surroundings. 1t partly satisfied crav-
ing she had felt; it was not exactly the
story Of the ship, as she had dreamed it,
but it was an episode in her experience of
it that broke its monotony. That she
should soon learn, perhaps from de Fer
rieres' own lips, the true reason of his
strange seclusion, and that it involved
more than appeared to her now, she never
for moment doubted.
At the end Of an hour she again knocked
softly Mt the door, carrying some light
nourishment she had prepared for him.
He was asleep, but she was astounded to
find that in the interval he had managed
to dress himself completely in his anti
quated flnery. 1t was II momentary
shock to the illusion she had been FOSTER
ing, but she forgot 1t in the pitiable con-
trast between his haggard face and his
pomatumed hair and beard, the jaunti-
ness Of his attire and the collapse of his
invalid figure. When she had satisfied
herself that his sleep was natural, she
able apartment. With few feminine
touches she removed the slovenliness Of
misery, and placed the loose material and
ostentatious evidences Of his work on ono
side. Finding that he still slept, and
knowing the Importance Of this natural
she had brought by his side and noise
lessly quilted the apartment. Hurrying
through the gathering darkness between
decks, she once or twice thought she had
heard footsteps and paused, but, encoun-
tering no one, attributed the impression to
her over consciousness. Yet she thought
1t prudent to go to the galley first, where
she fingered few moments before re-
turning to the cabin. On entering she
was little startled at observing figure
seated at her fathers desk but was re.
lieved at finding it was Mr.. Renshaw.
iiC itoC anu Puo uoiuC DOOk nc uuu
idly picked up. ~ am afraid I am not
an intentional intruder this time, Miss
Mott. But | found no one here, and
was tempted to look into this shipshape
little snuggery. You see the temptation
got the better of men
His voice and smile were so frank and
pleasant, so free from his previous re-
straint yet still respectful, so youthful yet
manly that Rosey was affected by them
even in her preoccupation, Her eyes
frightened and then dropped before his
admiring glance. Had she known that
the excitement of the last few hours had
brought wonderful charm into her
pretty face, had aroused the slumberipg
life of her half Weakened beauty, she
would have been more confused. AS it
was she was only glad that the young
man should turn out to be ''nice." Per-
haps he might tell her something about